On June 26, the Supreme Court ruled that the White House and federal agencies like the FBI can continue to urge social media platforms to remove content deemed as misinformation, marking a notable technical victory for the Biden administration in an election year.
The Supreme Court Allowed the White House to Urge Disinformation Removal on Social Media
The Supreme Court upheld the White House and federal agencies' authority to urge social media platforms to remove misinformation.
This decision also permits the Department of Homeland Security to continue flagging suspicious posts on platforms like Facebook and X, which it suspects could be linked to foreign efforts to disrupt the upcoming presidential election. The Court sidestepped First Amendment concerns by ruling that the challengers, including states and social media users, lacked standing to sue.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for a 6-3 majority, stated that plaintiffs must prove a substantial risk of imminent injury traceable to a government defendant and that such injury could be remedied by the injunction they seek. Barrett concluded that none of the plaintiffs met this burden, thus none had standing to seek a preliminary injunction.
The Supreme Court Previously Halted the Injunction
Biden administration officials have long sought to convince social media platforms to remove posts containing misinformation about vaccines, COVID-19, and the 2020 election, among other topics. According to the government, many of these posts violated the platforms' own policies.
In 2022, Republican officials from Missouri and Louisiana, along with five social media users, filed a lawsuit challenging this practice. They argued that the White House went beyond mere persuasion and engaged in an informal campaign of coercion, known as “jawboning,” to silence dissenting voices.
They highlighted social media companies' decision to suppress coverage of Hunter Biden's laptop in late 2020. However, internal communications from Twitter revealed internal disagreements among senior executives regarding the handling of the laptop story, casting doubt on claims that government pressure led to its suppression.
The plaintiffs also alleged that the FBI pressured platforms to remove content labeled as “foreign,” even when it was written by Americans.
The Court Ignores Threats to Free Speech
Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, penned a dissent, characterizing the case as one of the most significant free speech disputes to come before the Court in recent years. He argued that the challengers presented sufficient evidence to establish their standing.
Alito criticized the Court for failing to address what he viewed as a duty to confront the issue, allowing what he called a campaign of coercion to serve as a precedent for future government control over speech. He described the conduct of the officials involved in the lawsuit as unconstitutional, coercive, and dangerous.
“For months, high-ranking Government officials placed unrelenting pressure on Facebook to suppress Americans’ free speech. Because the Court unjustifiably refuses to address this serious threat to the First Amendment, I respectfully dissent,” Alito said.
Federal Judge Blocked Biden's Administration Last Year
In July 2023, a federal judge in Louisiana initially issued a sweeping preliminary injunction that barred the White House and several federal agencies from communicating with social media companies about removing content deemed to contain protected free speech.
The order specifically prohibits agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Justice Department, FBI, and officials like US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
These are prohibited from flagging or forwarding content to social media platforms in efforts to influence the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of such content. However, the injunction allows government communication with social media companies regarding illegal activities and national security concerns.
The White House Praised the Ruling
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre praised the ruling, stating in a statement, “The Supreme Court’s decision is the right one, and it helps ensure the Biden Administration can continue our important work with technology companies to protect the safety and security of the American people, after years of extreme and unfounded Republican attacks on public officials who engaged in critical work to keep Americans safe.”
Read More
Do Tech Giants Obstruct Fact-Checking Efforts to Combat Misinformation?
Former X Staffer Warns of Rising Fake News Crisis on Social Media
